Hong Kong stocks end 1% higher

Hong Kong stocks rose 229.92 points, or 1 percent to close at 23,214.40 points on Thursday. The benchmark Hang Seng Index traded between 23,214.40 and 23, 126.99. Turnover totaled 53.26 billion HK dollars (about 6.87 billion US dollars). The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 180.96 points, or 1.75 percent to close at 10,514.55. Three of the four major sub-indices gained ground, with the Commerce & Industry sub-index gained the most of 1.52 percent, followed by Finance of 0.76 percent and the Properties of 0.72 percent. The Utilities sub-index lowered for the second consecutive day, dropping 0.32 percent. Banking giant HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, edged up 0.24 percent to close at 84.35 HK dollars. Its local unit Hang Seng Bank lost 0.08 percent to close at 127.30 HK dollars. Local bourse operator HKEX rose 1.78 percent to end at 126.10 HK dollars. Cheung Kong Holdings, a powerful HK-based developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, ended up 1.96 percent at 125 HK dollars. SHK Properties went down 0.1 percent at 105.70 HK dollars. Henderson Land, another major developer in Hong Kong, fell 0.31 percent to 48.45 HK dollars. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 0.73 percent to close at 5.5 HK dollars. China Construction Bank moved up 1.34 percent at 6.06 HK dollars and Bank of China gained 1.7 percent at 3.6 HK dollars. PetroChina rose 1.41 percent to 8.64 HK dollars. Sinopec went up 1.3 percent to end at 6.22 HK dollars. (1 US dollar = 7.75 HK dollars)